sharing sustainability

sustainability

Next up in the One Planet Living principles is ‘Equity and Local Economy‘. Bioregional defines this as:

“Creating bioregional economies that support equity and diverse local employment and international fair trade“

Over its ~20 years, Bioregional has set up a range of local and closed-loop businesses from Bioregional Charcoal Company, The Laundry (office paper collection and recycling), One Planet Products. Some of these have morphed into different businesses, while some have since closed (their job done).

Two great resources that support local economies are:

New Economics Foundation: NEF is the UK’s leading think tank promoting social, economic and environmental justice. Their aim is to transform the economy so that it works for people and the planet. Their strapline is ‘economics as if people and the planet mattered.’ NEF is behind the Local Multiplier tool (or LM3) which measures how effectively different parts of a local economy work.

Transition Network‘s REconomy Project: Transition Network is a global grassroots’ movement of communities seeking to strengthen their resilience to problems including climate change, rising energy prices, economic uncertainty and inequality.A number of Transition groups or initiatives (TIs) are creating new livelihoods and enterprises, and expanding their area of influence deep into their local economic system. The REconomy Project has resources and examples in three broad categories:

Economic enablers: projects that provide support or infrastructure for new or existing businesses

Leadership projects: strategic, partnered activity that plans and co-ordinates a range of activities

Not everything can be produced locally. There are a range of labels that support fairer international trade, of which the Fairtrade Mark is probably the best known. Most of us are familiar with Fairtrade tea, coffee and chocolate, but did you know that you can get Fairtrade cotton, beauty products and even gold? When I got married, we got our wedding rings from CRED, one of the first ethical and Fairtrade jewellers. There are over 4,500 Fairtrade products: see the Fairtrade Foundation’s guide for more information.

For me, Equity is linked to Inclusion. I’ll come back to this in a future blog post.

Their website has numerous suggestions of how to take action for happiness and details of groups and events. I particularly like the posters and have used them at work. The resilience poster resonates with me: “If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it”.

Nationally, the UK Office for National Statistics has been collecting data on personal wellbeing since 2012. A summary of the most recent findings (2015) can be found in the wellbeing section of the ONS website. These found that reported personal wellbeing has been increasing year on year between 2012 and 2015, though there is some debate about how subjective this might be.

” The Exemplar makes commitments to foster happier, stronger communities where residents can have more time for friends and family, exercising and being outdoors, getting to know their neighbours, feeling safer and more connected to where they live and the surrounding environment.”

This will be achieved by:

“Building a healthy community which supports convenient eco-lifestyles

Building exercise into people’s lives by making ‘active transport’ the norm

Providing information on and access to healthy eating

All homes to meet Lifetime homes standards and ‘Building for Life’ Silver, determined principles of ‘Secure by Design’ and ‘Community Streets’

All homes to have excellent levels of daylighting; with an ADF factor between 2 and 5 in all habitable areas

Excellent air quality and ventilation via natural ventilation in summer, MVHR in winter

Use of non-toxic finishes and minimal VOC eco-paints

Super-insulated buildings that stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer

Creating a ‘Community Development Strategy’

A2Dominion to work with all partners to build a strong sense of community at NW Bicester

Achieved through welcome events and activity days

Encouraging street parties and ‘get to know your neighbour’ evenings

Facilitating the formation of new Community Action Groups through Shimmy

Establish annual community events such as green Olympics

Work with the skills, knowledge and interests of residents to build a unique identity for the site

Feeling connected; promoting accessibility and inclusion

Via the in-home Shimmy device residents will feel connected to all the activities, events, services and support available

A2Dominion will deliver an ex-servicemen social enterprise project

Diversity amongst community groups in the area to be promoted

Links with existing organisations in Bicester town to be built

Building for the future: ensuring climate change adaptation

Site planning to mitigate against flood risks

Innovative research and modelling as part of a TSB project undertaken in collaboration with Oxford Brookes University investigated a range of adaptation measures to be applied to buildings, for a range of scenarios up to 2080

I took an unusual route into sustainability: I started out with a maths degree and qualified as a chartered accountant. Increasingly concerned about the state of our planet and interested in environmental issues, I returned to university to study environmental change and management at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute. Since 2003 I’ve worked for a range of organisations and myself covering all aspects of sustainability. I worked for Bioregional in the early 2000s and again last year, working on NW Bicester eco-town and related projects. I led the sustainability assurance programme for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games at the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012. I was Chief Executive of Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust for three years. Early in 2016, I featured in Friends of the Earth’s members’ magazine where I talked about my new years resolution. I planned to follow Bioregional’s One Planet Living Principles through the year. These are:

Health and happiness

Equity and local economy

Culture and community

Land use and wildlife

Sustainable water

Local and sustainable food

Sustainable materials

Sustainable transport

Zero waste

Zero carbon

For various reasons, it’s taken me until May 2016 to get started blogging about this. I plan to use this blog to share information about sustainable solutions and the things that interest me. More to follow soon.